Questions tagged [plastic]
For questions about utilizing plastic, or materials meant to be used with plastic. Questions about specific types of plastic, such as PVC or ABS, should also use those tags.
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How to avoid bubbles in castings using dissolved Styrofoam?
I'm trying to do low-budget plastic casting. The process is pretty simple. Put Styrofoam in acetone. It dissolves into some goo. Stick the goo in a mold and wait for it to harden.
When I try it, the ...
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What materials are chosen for poly binders?
Consider the following binder:
Such binders are usually made of a single plastic sheet. The sheet is flexible and durable as you open/close the binder. I think they're formed into their U shape by ...
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What material(s) I can use to make this kind "hard" waterproof board at home?
I need to make L plates (it is used for learner motorcycle riders in many countries) at home.
Previously, I made it using a thick 250 gsm paper. I got L printed on it. But with time it faded and when ...
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What does 'mil' mean when measuring thickness?
I asked a question about transparencies, and while doing research for it, I found a lot of websites mentioned their products were N mil thickness.
What does mil mean when talking about the thickness ...
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Why do my poster colours behave strangely on my plastic palette?
I have poster paints - Camlin poster paints to be precise. I have 2 palettes, but both of them are plastic palettes. When I try to put a color on any of the palettes, they “go away”, like they don’t ...
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How can I make hollow transparent spheres between 25 and 29 mm diameter?
I'm restoring an old fan that used a horseshoe-shaped steel pipe for the base, and the ends of this pipe are closed of with two caps.
The caps are made of a transparent plastic, their shape reminding ...
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Is there a good low toxicity / food safety clear casting material?
I need to cast some plastic resin into the wood, such as to make a cutting board, where the resin is minimally toxic.
(For the moment, let's ignore the toxicity of the wood itself.)
I have used the &...
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How to mold outer shoe sole to the shape of my feet without using a last?
I'm currently sewing my first pair of shoes. They are made of fabric only (no leather, cork or other materials) and a commercial foam insole for comfort. I have covered the insole with matching lining ...
Elmy♦
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Are all plastic erasers not recommended or harmful for non-smooth papers like a casual sketchbook?
I read an answer here which says:
If you are doing technical drawings on a smooth, heavyweight paper, or
paper with a "shiny" surface due to size, plastic erasers will be the
way to go most ...
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Can I mold plastic (HDPE or LDPE) in silicone?
I've seen people molding plastic trash--like HDPE (from bottle caps, milk bottles...that type of thing) or plastic bags into a marbled solid plastic. But, in these videos most of them seem to be using ...
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How to get a smooth and glossy professional finish on plastic?
Whenever I do a project with plastic I find that no matter how hard I try (light layers, long cure times) it's always obvious that it's a DIY paint job.
How can I achieve a glossy finish like in this ...
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843
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What type of paint for mildly flexible plastics?
I have a couple of roughly fist-sized plastic† pieces that I'd like to paint (I'll post a pic as soon as I can); preferably with a spray but brush is OK too.
First I intend to lay down a primer (for ...
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Fixing double-ball joint on a 6'' scale action figure
I currently have a Figma 6 inch scale figure and unfortunately, I broke off a peg from the double ball shoulder joint. The broken peg was stuck in the hole connecting the arm so I used a knife to jam ...
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Remove scratches from a (resin or plastic) stuffed animal eye
I recently visited my childhood home and brought back some of my old favorite stuffed animals.
One of them, Snip the Beanie Baby, has noticeable scratches/dents/nicks/chips on her eyes.
What is the ...
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Are the teeth of this machine iron or steel? [closed]
I want to buy or have such a machine built, but the teeth must be steel.
[Shredding Hard and Soft Things with Plastic Crushing Machine][1]
https://youtu.be/z1-wj7Go8R0
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DVD/Bluray Plastic Cover
I am trying to recreate the plastic cover which holds the art cover, of a DVD or Bluray case. I have suitable transparent plastic, but don't know how I should join/glue the edges to the case.
I have ...
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How to utilise plastic straws? [closed]
I want craft ideas because I have a heap of plastic straws that I want to use for some sort of craft. Any ideas?
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1
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172
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How should I clean these plastic items? [closed]
The items in the pictures below happen to be plastic beach beds, but the same requirements could apply to upcycling old plastic items and needing to clean them first, or other crafting needs.
I ...
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How to repair heavy duty nylon seam?
I bought a heavy sandbag which is supposed to be able to be dropped. Given the good ratings it has, I assume it had a manufacturing fault as the seam exploded the first time I dropped it.
Luckily, as ...
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How do I remove modelling clay from my parts and silicone mold?
I've just created my first silicone mould, well, the first part of a two part mould.
I've used OOmOO 30, which is great.
However, I've used a modelling clay called Sculpey III to raise parts in the ...
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I am looking to melt some leftover acrylic into a mould, at home. Are there fumes that I should be worried about?
So, the title just about sums it up.
I've cut some acrylic sheets to make vitrines for some painting frames and I have some leftover strips of acrylic.
I have an idea of what to use the acrylic for, ...
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Rectangle-Cylindrical Enclosure ideas?
Sadly SE doesn’t really have a great fit subsite for my specific question, and the DIY stack exchange is mainly for home improvement. Thus, I post here.
I have designed a usb device and ordered and ...
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What's a good non-adhesive plastic sheet to protect soft-back books?
I'd like to use non-adhesive transparent plastic sheet to wrap a soft-back book to protect it for long-term frequent use.
I'd like to try the method #3 described in
https://www.wikihow.com/Cover-a-...
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405
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Laminating with pouches or plastic under 75 micron
I'm trying for my project to create some professional looking covers for handmade books and booklets, so I recently bough an electrical plastificator / laminator machine that support both hot and cold ...
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508
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DIY acrylic lamp engraving problem
I've been trying to make an acrylic lamp for a while - in short: engrave a piece of acrylic, and then put LED strip under it to light it up - but ran into some problems.
As you can see in the image, ...
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1k
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How to reproduce faux tortoise shell material
I'd like to mimic this faux tortoise shell material:
Ideally I need the material to be like a thin layer of plastic (probably less than 2mm).
I tried using clear epoxy resin + colors, and I almost ...
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Alternative for wickes PVA glue in america
I was watching a tutorial on youtube for getting a plastic finish with smooth on's 65D plastic and Wickes PVA glue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDwQg6CX25A (5:40 roughly)
I can get the smooth on ...
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Re-bending a bent plastic figure to stand up straight [closed]
I have a plastic miniature person (an archer) from a board game, but she was unfortunately bent either during packaging or during initial molding. She leans WAY over...
I put her in a bowl of very ...
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Dishwasher-proof way to personalize plastic lunch containers
So, I meal prep, and I use bowls like this to carry my prepped lunches to work:
From another angle, showing the lip below the lid:
The recycling mark on the bottom says they are polypropylene for ...
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114
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What is this holographic material
I have some decorations that have standard fairy lights behind some plastic which creates a kind of holographic effect.
There is a similar product here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07JB979HD
What ...
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Remove or hide red colour from trackpad on laptop [closed]
I have this Lenovo Y720 laptop which got an overall black design, but this one red square is driving me nuts. Is there a way to paint it black or some vinyl I can add? There are no skins for it.
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It is possible to create powerful crucible that you can melt plastics in it? If yes, how can I create it from simple materials?
I’m asking this because, I’m trying to find how to make a powerful crucible that when you melt any plastic in it, it doesn’t not happen anything to it, and you can also hold it with your hands even ...
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From what material/s I need to create a mold so that I can pour in it safely any kind of molten plastic?
I want to create a mold, so that when I want to make for example, planet Earth in plastic in 3D, then I can pour the molten plastic into mold. So that I can give a form. Not only this, but… when I buy ...
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How to cut a hole in a globe without breaking it?
Together with my fiancée, we bought a globe very similar to the one below (same brand).
Now we want to cut a clean, rectangular hole (roughly 8 cm x 1-2 cm) in it in order to put envelopes in it but, ...
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Making plastic mold from plastic sheet
I would like to make some plastic mold for my arcrylic pieces. Is there any good way to create the plastic mold not using vacuum former?
Vacuum former example
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Plastics options for molding
I am creating a sword for cosplay, and I need the material used to be clear, rigid, and lightweight, and to cure properly in such a thin mould (and can be poured into the mould I have, as I'd prefer ...
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Mice/hamster chew proof plastic material
I am making a custom enclosure for small animals.
I was wondering whether non-toxic and chew proof plastic exists and what is it called?
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Adhesive for applying keyboard keys to wood
I have a mosaic made of keyboard keys that I made by gluing the keys to a piece of cardboard. After some time, the cardboard has begun to warp under the weight of the affixed keys.
I now have a ...
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Dyeing hard polycarbonate plastic
I have a hard, polycarbonate globe, like this one pictured below. I am trying to make it look like an eyeball. I am lighting it from inside, and I already have a good blue iris that I made out of blue ...
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How to make plastic badges?
Anyone know how these are made at the gym I think they use a gym but how is it made ?
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Plastic paint on laptop
I have this black touchpad with a red paint around it, how can I make this black? Does some vinyl exist? Paint? I tried to find some touchpad skins that matched the rest of the laptop, but i couldn't ...
user3400
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What's the name of this type of acrylic?
I recently came across Love Hulton's amazing work and was especially impressed by the aesthetic of the pearly acrylic front of the datorbox. I saw the same material being used for fashioning guitar ...
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How to make adjustments to a PVC raincoat?
I have a raincoat made of PVC that I’d like to make some adjustments to: adding more buttons or other ways of attachment (it is full-length but it has buttons only to the knee); adding a string at the ...
user3216
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1
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Can I use Lucas oil colors for painting plastic kits?
I bought a plastic fighter kit, now I want to paint it with an airbrush and some oil colors.
Now, I've got a question : Can I use Lucas oil color for painting plastic kits? Is it permanent after ...
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What kind of paint marker will work for flexible vinyl?
I'm making a mini cape out of flexible vinyl, like the kind used for window clings. I need to leave light blue, permanent marks on the vinyl that won't peel or flake as the cape is flexed.
I'd really ...
user24
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2
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Which adhesives work well when gluing vinyl to plastic?
I am looking to glue some vinyl tablecloth material (the type you can buy anywhere in France as it is waterproof and usually left out on garden tables) to a plastic swing bin. Does anyone know which ...
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Vacuum forming/thermoforming elastic materials?
I need to create a few dozen opaque domes/hemispheres of various sizes from 80 cm to 120 cm. The shape is pretty basic, for example:
Source
The domes have to be foldable into smaller pieces for easy ...
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What is the name of the rigid plastic cord in this hem?
I deconstructed a bag/pack in an attempt to sew one from scratch and the hem had a rigid plastic cord that helped it keep its circular shape:
The best I could find after some time googling is that it ...
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What types of large plastic sheets can I draw/paint on?
I typically draw on Stonehenge paper from rolls, cut size: 48" x 60+". I like working big but it's horribly expensive to frame anything that large so I have been looking into various plastic drafting ...
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Interlocking plastic, rubber, or foam product that can be cut to size?
Would you know if there's some sort of interlocking plastic (or other material) mats that can be cut to any size and which is less than 1 inch (2.5cm) thick? Ideally probably 1 - 1.5cm thickness.
I'm ...
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